Chapter Four

Lizzie yawned and stretched as she opened her eyes, noticing that Alice had already gotten up. She actually hadn't had any more nightmares after she went to sleep with Alice there. She felt better for some reason, lighter. Walking downstairs, she saw sitting on the couch, watching the news.

"Hey, Lizzie… You feeling better?" Alice asked. Lizzie nodded.

"Tell me again about what happened with you becoming me? Because I'm still a little bit lost on that front." Lizzie said. Alice shrugged.

"I'm not really sure either. I only know what Mommy told me. Pay attention to the news, Lizzie."

"Compelling story… Whatever this pathogen is in New York, it's crossed species lines and is affecting animals as well as humans. We've found a strange sight in zoos, in back alleys and in homes even. Animals have turned up dead with their chests ripped out like the rest of the victims. Unfortunately, whatever creature is coming out have not been found. However, the number of attacks in the city have increased, and it's not just people with their chests ripped out anymore.

Some have giant holes in their heads as though a creature tore it open. Hundreds of disappearances are occurring daily and though police are searching frantically, they cannot find a trace of these people. Citizens are being encouraged to leave the city and remain outside until such time as the infestation has been eradicated.

We take you to the Tappan Zee and the Brooklyn Bridge, both of which are filled to gridlock. Toll booths going out of the city are slowed to a crawl and airports are so full that customs and security had to double their on-call staff to make sure that all passengers make their flights. Only one man in the city can ever remember such a large mass exodus from the city. We're interviewing him today. Hello, Mr. Oden… You're 120 years old, right?" The newscaster asked.

"Ah? You'll need to speak up a bit, missy!" The old man said. The woman spoke louder.

"You're 120 years old, right?" She asked. The man fiddled with his hearing aid and nodded.

"122 this December…" Mr. Oden said cheerfully.

"So… You said you remember a time when people were leaving the city like this, right?"

"Yes… Back in 1910… It wasn't known at first what was happening, but people were dying in brutal fashion in a similar way to what's happening now. Some people claimed to see eight foot tall creatures built like Panzers fighting with black dragonlike beings. After the initial panic and evacuation, not much was heard until it was reported that there was a huge explosion in New York.

"When people got back, buildings were destroyed by what looked like combat, but trees, animals and other plants were devastated. Carcasses were littering the streets and the parks. Nobody knows what exactly happened back then, but stories about an alien race of big game hunters started to come out. The stories went that they used humans to breed the ultimate prey and in doing so, started the hunt. We were cattle to them, but we weren't the ultimate goal.

"Those dragons were. There were no corpses of any aliens left when we got back. People searched through the sewers to the basements to the caves in Central Park. Nothing was left. Whoever those aliens were, they cleaned up well after themselves. That was about 100 years ago. Maybe they're back. If that's the case, all we can do is get out of their way while they fight their own private war."

"Thank you, Mr. Oden. You heard it here first. The CDC has advised all citizens to evacuate the city. This has been Channel 12 News. Thank you and have a good day." The newscaster signed off on this note and the commercials came on. Lizzie sighed. She was suddenly exhausted again. She didn't want to do anything. Alice hugged her again.

"What was your nightmare about last night, Lizzie?" She asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Lizzie said, turning away from Alice. Alice sighed.

"Well… Alright. If you ever want to just talk to me… I'm always here for you…" She said. "Would you at least like to come on my Pokéwalk? I'm planning to break level 39 today. You're getting pretty close to level 40, right, Lizzie?" Elizabeth sighed.

"Fine… I guess I can put on sunblock and go out… Maybe it will make my world a little less unbearable." She muttered, going to her bag and pulling out the suntan lotion, going into the bathroom and applying it to most of her body. She was very fair skinned and burned easily, especially on days like the one they were experiencing where there was absolutely no cloud cover.

When she was done, she got her cell phone and her portable charger and told Sam that they were going out.

"Alright… Take Finny with you… He wants to meet the locals." Sam said. Lizzie sighed dramatically, but Alice sat down, waiting for Finny to get ready.

"Seems like the town is pretty Valor heavy." Alice said. Lizzie looked at the gyms and nodded.

"Yeah… Well, I guess we'll be turning this town upside down then." She said with a weak laugh.

Finally, they were outside and walking around in the warm mid-spring air.

"So… What level are you, Finny?"

"I'm up to 32!" He said proudly. Alice smiled. "That's great."

"It's not great. You're both at least 38."

"It's not a competition, Finny. We're just siblings. The fact that we're all on the same team just means that we can all fill a gym together. We don't have to compete over levels." Alice said. Alice said nothing, putting on a pair of sunglasses so that nobody could see the dark circles under her eyes. As they were turning the corner, they were accosted by some neighbors.

"Hey! Hey, wait! You guys're new here right? We heard that some people came to visit the Brewsters late last night. Ízzat you three?"

"Yes… My name is Alice McCray, this is my sister, Lizzie and this is our younger brother, Finny."

"Nice to meetcha! You guys talk funny… Where ya from? England?"

"Mm… Other direction actually. We're from New York. We were born in the Bronx so we still have a bit of that accent." Finny said cheerfully, shaking the kids' hands, gripping tighter than he really needed to.

"Whoo… For such a little guy, you've got quite a grip on ya! You three here to stay?"

"For a little while anyway. I'm not sure when we're going back, but for now they've recommended that everyone in New York leave." Alice said. The three boys looked at Lizzie who continued to remain silent.

"She doesn't talk much, does she?"

"She's… Very quiet with people she doesn't know yet." Alice said. Lizzie was actually kind of shy with strangers. She just didn't like people to know that and played it off as quiet and mysterious.

"Hey, Lizzie… My name is Dan… This is Ian and this is Nate…"

"Nice to meet you." Lizzie said, looking at them briefly and then looking away.

"So… This is the weekend… Are ya gonna be at school on Monday?" Nate asked. Alice smiled.

"I'm not sure. Which school would we be going to?"

"Well that depends on how old you are. You two look like you might be 12 or 13… Am I about right?"

"We're 13." Lizzie said."

"Oh… You'll be in the same class as us. We go to Haviland. And your little brother… He's… 9?"

"He's eight." Alice said, smirking at the growl that Finny gave off.

"Eight and a half!"

"Right… Eight and a half. So he's in third grade." Alice said.

"Oh! You Pokémon Goers? What level are you?"

"39…" Lizzie said.

"38." Alice added.

"32." Finnian said, seeming annoyed that he was so much lower than the girls.

"Ah, great… Your Team?" Ian asked.

"Mystic." The three said together.

"We're Valor… But don't let that fool ya'. We're actually pretty cool guys." Dan laughed.

"I'm sure you are." Alice said politely. "We have friends in the city from all three teams."

"We're goin' out to Vanderbilt and around Hyde Park to do some Raiding. Would ya care t' join us?" Dan asked. Lizzie nodded.

"I don't mind." The Goth girl said, turning and walking down the road.

"Um… Lizzie… You're going the wrong way. That'll take ya to Roosevelt." Nate said.

"Why don't you follow us?" Ian added.

"Oh…" Lizzie replied, turning around and following the rest of the group.

"We're meeting some friends of ours at the mansion. It's gonna be a big group. I hope you don't mind crowds.

"Lizzie'll pretend she doesn't mind. But crowds upset her. She's secretly really shy." Finny said with a smirk. Alice exclaimed irritably.

"Finny… Come on, you know Lizzie doesn't want people to know that." She said. Lizzie blushed, causing Alice to turn a faint shade of pink as well.

"Well, that's alright. These people are really cool. You don't have to talk to them if ya don't want to. But if you're coming to our school for the year, you'll be stuck with us for eight hours outta the day, so ya might as well make some friends. You're not too good for us country bumpkins, are ya? Ian asked.

"N-no… Of course not." Lizzie muttered nervously, any vestiges of her confidence draining out of her.

"Cool… Can ya take off your glasses?" Nate asked. Lizzie blushed again, taking off her sunglasses.

"Wow… You've got really pretty eyes. Why would you want to hide them?" Dan asked.

"None of your business. Can we go?" Lizzie asked, putting the glasses back on and following the three boys to the Vanderbilt Estate.

"Who's the girl with you?"

"Oh! This is my sister, Elaine." Nate said. She's a year younger than me. She's usually pretty talkative. I dunno what's goin' on."

"Is that perfume you're wearing, Lizzie? It smells good." She said with a bright smile that looked like it could light up an entire auditorium.

"Sunblock." Lizzie said. "I burn easily."

"But… You're wearing long sleeves and long pants… Actually, you look like you're dressed for a funeral… What's goin' on?"

"She's a goth… Come on, you've seen some of them at your school too."

"A few… I always thought they were kinda weird… Are you a death obsessed freak too, Lizzie?" Elaine asked.

"Sorry, Lizzie… She also never really learned manners." Nate said pointedly.

"I bet she just dresses like that so she has an excuse not to talk to people." Elaine said with a smirk.

"You know, I think I'm just gonna go home." Lizzie muttered, walking back to her own house.

"Lizzie, wait!" Alice said, starting after her.

"You know, Elaine. You can't just act like that towards people. Who cares what Lizzie dresses like? She's gonna be our neighbor… Why can't you just be polite to people! Get out of here! I didn't even want to bring you anyway!" Nate snapped angrily.

Elaine looked terribly upset, running off in tears. Nate sighed and headed over towards the Lawry house. The least they could do was apologize for Nate's sister's behavior.

When they got there, Nate knocked on the door. Sam's mother answered.

"Hello, Nathan, Daniel, Ian… How can I help you?"

"Is… Elizabeth here?" Nathan asked. Colleen shook her head.

"She's not really up for company. There was a tragedy in her family recently and I'm afraid as tough as she likes to act, she's a little bit fragile right now.

"I'm not sure what upset her so much, but… She's not really in any state to entertain right now. I can give her a message for you if you like."

"Well… It would be best if we told her ourselves…" Nathan said.

"C'mon man… Way Elaine treated her, what are the odds she's ever gonna even talk to us again, much less listen to an apology?" Dan asked.

"Could you just tell her that Elaine is sorry for what she said to her?"

"Oh, dear. What did Lainie say now?" Colleen asked.

"She may have said something more than a little bit offensive to Lizzie. Usually people don't react so badly to what Elaine says. Most of us just learn to ignore her. Maybe you could just tell Lizzie how bad we feel about all this?" Nate asked.

"Of course. I'm sure you'll see her. You've been following the news stories about the infestation in New York, right?"

"Oh yeah! Aliens and all that. Weird, weird stuff."

"Sammy and her kids came here to get away from all that."

"Wait… Grammy… I'll talk to them…" Alice said, taking the three boys outside and shutting the door.

"Listen. I'm sure she'd appreciate that you're apologizing for Elaine. She doesn't want to talk to you right now though. She didn't even want to come out in the first place. But I knew if I didn't make her get out, she would've just spent all day inside being miserable and hating herself. Now she's doing that anyway. So you three need to leave."

"Listen… I've tried to get Elaine to stop talking to people like that… Nothing works on her. Our parents have bribed her, grounded her, sent her to what I call 'princess school'. None of it worked. It's not my fault that she won't be nice to people!"

"You should've left her home then!"

"You think I didn't want to leave her home? My parents made me take her! She makes rude comments to everyone, she embarrasses me in front of my friends! She keeps me from making any new friends! I'd be happy to just leave her at home! Besides, how was I supposed to know that we'd be running into little Miss Sensitive on our walk!"

"Get out! Don't talk to me or Lizzie again!" Alice snapped, turning around and storming back into the house, slamming the door.